Social media in the palm of your hand

Media release

 

18 March 2014

 

Social media in the palm of your hand

 

Setting your social media agenda is about to get easier with the launch of a new card-based tool designed to help businesses understand and select the right social tools to meet their specific goals and budgets.

 

Social Media Planner – which launched its Kickstarter funding campaign on Saturday – provides a simple and tangible way for individuals and teams to learn about and design social media engagement strategies.

 

In an engaging game-like process, groups can pick up and discuss different cards to consider their choices, lay out a selection which meet their social media engagement goals, or simply explore the cards to discover new online techniques.

 

The Social Media Planner deck includes two card types:

 

1.    Social Media Category cards – Each of the 40 cards feature a category of social media service or tool – from social networks and blogs to online competitions. Each card includes a brief explanation of the category and a number representing the relative cost and effort to setup and use.

 

2.    Scenario cards – Each card features a challenging social media goal, from ‘launching a new product for motoring enthusiasts’ to ‘designing a health campaign for young people’. Two sets of 12 scenarios are available, one for the business sector and one for government.

 

How it works

 

People new to Social Media Planner may start by choosing a Scenario card then, as an individual or team, discuss and decide which social media tools will best meet the goal, selecting from the social media Category cards up to the scenario point limit.

 

Experienced individuals and teams can use a real project rather than a scenario, following the same process to design their actual social media strategy.

 

Craig Thomler, founder of Social Media Planner, said: “A Social Media Planner deck is ideal for helping set a business’s social media agenda. Whether you’re at work, home or the coffee shop, Social Media Planner provides a simple, tangible and convenient way to create a social media strategy.”

 

“Social media is an increasingly important focus for all types of business and Social Media Planner can help everyone from the online novice to the seasoned professional to effectively brainstorm the best social media mix to meet their needs and budget,” he said.

 

Two-thirds of companies intend to increase their social media activity in the year ahead, according to the latest BRR Media ASX200 Social Media Report.

 

“Social Media Planner has had over six years of testing with hundreds of individuals around Australia and in New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. It has proven itself as a tool that helps businesses address real-world online engagement challenges by making social media tools tangible,” Mr Thomler said.

 

With sufficient backing through Kickstarter, the cards will be available later this year.

 

Core benefits of Social Media Planner

·         Designed to fit in pocket or handbag

·         Proven results for hundreds of social media novices and experts across four countries

·         Makes the intangible tangible – making mapping out much easier

·         Created by an expert in the field who has developed hundreds of strategies and understands the different aspects of social media

·         Can physically show management how much work and resources are required for a ‘free’ social media campaign

·         Can help determine whether a social media platform is right for your organisation

·         Can help you determine the resourcing required

·         The physical process suits different learning styles

·         Good way to encourage sharing of ideas and shared vision.

 

Social Media Planner target audience

·         Teams and individuals responsible for designing social media strategies

·         PR and marketing professionals

·         Advertising agencies

·         PR agencies

·         Social media professionals

·         Social media trainers

·         Small businesses seeking to design a social media strategy.

 

For more information:

www.socialmediaplanner.com.au